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Topic: Shelf life of nitrogen packed wheat (Read 9555 times)

I went to a moving sale in my neighborhood and got a TON of very cool items...but that's another post. One of the things I purchased was 36 cans of nitrogen packed wheat...we know that it is at the very minimum 17 years old...the guy whom purchased these died 17 years ago....but we are sure that they are probably older than that....the cans were going for 50 cents a piece....and for that price, if they wheat isn't good, I will use it as chicken feed....Chicken feed is WAY up in price...and they love wheat...

So this weekend, I will open a can, take some pics and do some experimenting...baking, sprouting etc. with the wheat.....this will give us all an idea on the idea that you can store wheat for a long time is true or not...hahahah! I am excited to get this chance....

I have been searching about old cans of wheat on the net and came across this link that I believe will be helpfull....look for more post on what I bought at the yardsale....it was a preppers dream! I knew this guy way back when I was a teenager and he was into prepping back then....plus I have a few items that maybe you good folks can give me some ideas for....

Do I treat Glocks like I treat my lawn mowers? No, I treat them worse. I treat my defensive weapons like my fire extinguishers and smoke detector - annual maintenance and I expect them to work when needed

ok so I finally got around to opening a can of the wheat. A little background on what we know of the wheat. 1. It's at least 17 years old...but more likely older...the guy whom owned the cans died 17 years ago...his widow doesn't know how long he had these stored...2. The owner lightly oiled the cans...and they cans look practically new....this is a great idea...he oiled the tops and the bottoms. You would never know that these were older cans, except the labels are yellowed...and very 70ish looking! hahahah! 3. The cans were stored in an old church that was unheated. They must have been kept in a box, because they had zero amount of dust on them....Everything else in the old church was quite dusty. The owner used the church for storage....and what a HUGE amount of storage he had!

Cans of wheat that I purchased for 50 cents a can. We bought 36 cans...these nicely stacked in the bottom of my kitchen pantry.

Front label of can....I need to research some more on the web, to see if I can find this company and when they produced this stuff...

Top of can....no rust...

Look what my husband found in the church storage ---military can openers....I now have one on my keychain...and he has one...but unfortunately, they were to small to open these larger cans.

Comparing my pantry wheat to the canned wheat.....there is no difference in shape or color....the canned wheat smells a little different and I suspect it is because it was nitrogen packed. I read that if you let it air dry for a day, that smell will go away.

next test will be to see if I can get them to sprout and to grind some up to bake with....will post results when I get a chance to do this....this is the heart of canning season, and experiments have to be sandwiched between canning sessions...hahah!

Egg, I get the feeling that this stuff'll be good for years to come. If''n you need a guinea pig to try some bread or sweet rolls, feel free to send 'em right here to PO Box 3. I'd even pay for the Priority Mail postage. I'm sure you could get lots of rolls in a Flat Rate box. ;^)

Well I'm hoping.... I'm afraid the rolls/sweetrolls wouldn't make it past my door...hahahah! But if your ever my way...stop on in...we'll fix something up... I'm greatly encouraged after opening a can up....I was really surprised how it looks just like my wheat that I have in the pantry for everyday use!

I like the idea that we actually have something to test out...that's already been stored for years....that's why I'm posting this on here....it's not just talk...it's the real deal..

ok so I air dried it out for a day, and the slight smell is gone....must have been the nitrogen...

I put 1/2 cup of berries and 2 cups of lukewarm water in a mason jar with a coffee filter for a lid. I'll let this sit for 12 hours in a dark cupboard....then I'll drain off the water and rinse the berries and see if they will sprout. if i'm successfull, I post the complete instructions on how to sprout...

I know that spelt (wheat) has been found in Egyptian tombs after two or three thousand years of storage, but I don't know if it was still edible. However, 3000 year old honey has been found in similar circumstances, and it was still edible.

They didn't sprout 100%, but I don't think any seeds sprout 100%....but it was enough that I wouldn't hesitate to use them as seed wheat. I am interested in making bread with them...and see how that turns out...